South American tour

Where you've been and what you done
User avatar
Godspeed
Posts: 1901
Joined: Mon Nov 04, 2013 12:35 pm
Has thanked: 2580 times
Been thanked: 2202 times

Re: South American tour

Post by Godspeed »

Once again lovely photos!

The bike looks great fully loaded, how is it handling?

Cheers
Chris
The Meandering Moustache

Going Big and Riding Small

Honda PCX125 (sports tourer)
Honda Innova ANF125 (Adventure bike)
ErikGustav2
Posts: 578
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:18 am
Location: Albufeira-Portugal (Dalarna-Sweden)
Has thanked: 159 times
Been thanked: 739 times

Himalayan

Post by ErikGustav2 »

It handles very well.

It is very stable on twisty roads.
Of course the luggage impacts the riding on gravel.

(On an organised tour in Nepal, we slept in Hotels.
A van behind us carried our personal stuff
A mechanic with tools was there.
And of course no cooking equipment were needed.
Riding around with a small bag with camera, more or less. Luxury)
https://www.asiabiketours.com/nepal-mag ... tains.html

It is much easier to ride an empty bike. But that goes for all.
I like the handling. And it works well as an overall travel bike.
Except for high ways.
I ride around 80 km/h max.

=
The camping equipment is very bulky. And takes wind. But the weight is not that much.

Tent (one small dry bag) 3,5 kg
Matress+ chair (Half of the large dry bag)
Sleeping bag (75% of one small dry bag)

A lot of things to carry. Easier without. But nice to have in Southern Chile and in Argentina.
And everything has been used. So no unnecessary stuff.

Edit:
I would like to use the crash bars around the tank for some luggage.
2x3 liters of fuel or
2 smaller bags

To move some weight from back to front.
Hard to change now.
But if I will use Himalayan again. I would do one of these.
Last edited by ErikGustav2 on Sat Apr 01, 2023 7:56 am, edited 2 times in total.
User avatar
gbags
Posts: 1290
Joined: Mon Aug 15, 2011 2:08 pm
Location: Devon, UK
Has thanked: 1069 times
Been thanked: 654 times

Re: South American tour

Post by gbags »

A truly beautiful ride and part of the world.
BAE4205B-2173-4F99-A83E-FF0C26D7FB2E.jpeg
BAE4205B-2173-4F99-A83E-FF0C26D7FB2E.jpeg (281.2 KiB) Viewed 600 times
ErikGustav2
Posts: 578
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:18 am
Location: Albufeira-Portugal (Dalarna-Sweden)
Has thanked: 159 times
Been thanked: 739 times

Camping in Villa Union at RN 40

Post by ErikGustav2 »

I arrived at a camp site in the afternoon.
It looked nice but empty. The gate was closed but not locked.
Next to the camp site was a small house with a sign ”Venden bebidas”
I went there to ask it they new anything about the camp site.
It was very hot and the lady gave me a large mug of cold water. And said: Stay there in the shadow. And I will call them. She called and the mug was empty. She said that the owner of the camping would show up. She gave me a half liter bottle of cold water. From freezer. Even some ice in it. Take this with you, she said.

A young lady with a small girl showed up on a small motorcycle. She told me that the camping was open. But empty due to low season. During the high season, the family used to live there and take care of the camping full time. But now they lived two blocks away. And only went here from time to time to fix stuff. I could just enter and set up my stuff as I wanted. And if I needed something, just call them.

I payed the small fee and prepared things. But there was no electricity or WiFi as promised. So I called to the family. The man told me were the outlet was and the key to WiFi. But there was no electricity and no WiFi signal. This time, a boy came on a rat MC. He checked and I was right. No electricity and no WiFi. He tried some with a set of circuit breakers. And electricity was on in the outlet on the tree !! WiFi.. no. He went inside the house and fixed electricity even there. So the router started to work. All set.

In the evening, I went back to the neighbor and asked to buy water and Coke. The coke came in a glass bottle. Water was their own tap water. That they had filled in bottles and put in the freezer. I payed only for the coke.

Next morning I was short of water. The last water was enough for a cup of coffee. I went to the neighbor to return the glass bottle. And asked if I could get another bottle of cold water. No problem. I tried to pay them some small money for the service with water. But they did not accept. If you want water, just come and fetch.

This is how these people treated me as a complete stranger. So nice. And people talk about danger and..... They saw an old man in full MC dress in 30-35 degrees. Baking in the sun. That needed water and a place to pitch a tent. And they fixed that for me.
Last edited by ErikGustav2 on Sat Apr 01, 2023 7:59 am, edited 2 times in total.
ErikGustav2
Posts: 578
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:18 am
Location: Albufeira-Portugal (Dalarna-Sweden)
Has thanked: 159 times
Been thanked: 739 times

Camping and football

Post by ErikGustav2 »

Hola gente.
Como andan ?

I have a long backlog to publish.
And a long list of excuses. Sleeping in tent...but mainly that my computer is in bad shape.
=
To be in Argentina during World Championship in football is a very special experience.
The daily life follows the WC schedule.

Here are some pictures from a camping.
Where the people combine camping, grill and football during a weekend.

Get together to prepare food and eat.
Bring a parabolic + TV set
Place the TV set on the grill (I hope that is not the same as was used to prepare food)
Watch the game and have a good time.
To be part of this is a memory for life.

=
You can count the goals within very long distance, by listening to the sound.
Attachments
Camping Malague 03.jpg
Camping Malague 03.jpg (155.69 KiB) Viewed 493 times
Camping Malague 02.jpg
Camping Malague 02.jpg (143.96 KiB) Viewed 493 times
Camping Malague 01.jpg
Camping Malague 01.jpg (137.83 KiB) Viewed 493 times
Last edited by ErikGustav2 on Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:01 am, edited 2 times in total.
OnHellas
Posts: 2605
Joined: Sat Oct 18, 2014 2:12 pm
Location: By the sea, Kent, UK
Has thanked: 571 times
Been thanked: 892 times

Re: South American tour

Post by OnHellas »

Thank you for continuing with the trip reports. Much appreciated, I know that it takes a fair bit of time and effort.
Keep it up….and the wonderful photos too please.

Ride safe.
ErikGustav2
Posts: 578
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:18 am
Location: Albufeira-Portugal (Dalarna-Sweden)
Has thanked: 159 times
Been thanked: 739 times

RN 40 from San Carlos de los Andes to Cayafate

Post by ErikGustav2 »

A short summary for this part of RN 40.
Starting where the area Siete Lagos ends and ending in Cayafate.

This part is mainly tarmac. It is more than 2 000 km long.
It was during long parts flat with straight road.
The area was very empty. Very long between villages.
Hard to get petrol, food and somewhere to sleep.
Temperature was high. (Peak 40 Celsius)
It was often boring to just see the road disappears into the horizon.
Even there were some mountains to view.

For me it turned into mainly a transport in baking heat.
But not only...
Attachments
RN 40 03.jpg
RN 40 03.jpg (132.79 KiB) Viewed 446 times
RN 40 02.jpg
RN 40 02.jpg (96.56 KiB) Viewed 446 times
RN 40 01.jpg
RN 40 01.jpg (114.52 KiB) Viewed 446 times
Last edited by ErikGustav2 on Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:03 am, edited 1 time in total.
ErikGustav2
Posts: 578
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:18 am
Location: Albufeira-Portugal (Dalarna-Sweden)
Has thanked: 159 times
Been thanked: 739 times

RN 40 from San Carlos de los Andes to Cayafate - Gravel

Post by ErikGustav2 »

One part of gravel road.
Or more correct, road work.
Work was ongoing to prepare for tarmac.

The road looks rather nice.
Wide and flat.
RN 40 21.jpg
RN 40 21.jpg (144.55 KiB) Viewed 443 times
There were tracks that the cars had created, that did not have that much loose gravel.
The gravel was more like "strings"
RN 40 22.jpg
RN 40 22.jpg (192.84 KiB) Viewed 443 times
But it was not that easy as it looked.
The gravel included a large part of stones. That works well as ball bearings between the tire and the hard surface
RN 40 23.jpg
RN 40 23.jpg (152.53 KiB) Viewed 443 times
=
I saw later a YouTube video where they called this part
"Los 73 kilómetros más difíciles de la Patagonia"
Last edited by ErikGustav2 on Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:08 am, edited 3 times in total.
ErikGustav2
Posts: 578
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:18 am
Location: Albufeira-Portugal (Dalarna-Sweden)
Has thanked: 159 times
Been thanked: 739 times

RN 40 from San Carlos de los Andes to Cayafate mountains

Post by ErikGustav2 »

A nice break was a part that went up into mountains.
Nice views, twisty roads and 15 degrees lower temperature
Attachments
RN 40 13.jpg
RN 40 13.jpg (162.46 KiB) Viewed 442 times
RN 40 12.jpg
RN 40 12.jpg (183.81 KiB) Viewed 442 times
RN 40 11.jpg
RN 40 11.jpg (189.78 KiB) Viewed 442 times
Last edited by ErikGustav2 on Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:08 am, edited 1 time in total.
ErikGustav2
Posts: 578
Joined: Sat Feb 23, 2019 7:18 am
Location: Albufeira-Portugal (Dalarna-Sweden)
Has thanked: 159 times
Been thanked: 739 times

RN 40 from San Carlos de los Andes to Cayafate - camping

Post by ErikGustav2 »

Camping works very well in this area.
Campsites are often basic. But they have what you need.
At a low cost.

It is also nice to meet other travelers and have a chat in the evening.
Get information about road conditions and more. That you do not get alone in a hotel room.

Even I did not had something like this old Mercedes
RN 40 31.jpg
RN 40 31.jpg (125.68 KiB) Viewed 439 times
I did very well
RN 40 32.jpg
RN 40 32.jpg (140.69 KiB) Viewed 437 times
RN 40 33.jpg
RN 40 33.jpg (92.11 KiB) Viewed 439 times
Last edited by ErikGustav2 on Sat Apr 01, 2023 8:09 am, edited 2 times in total.
Post Reply

Return to “RIDE REPORTS”